Cobb County

Father followed home from bank, attacked is part of disturbing trend, police say

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A father of five says two robbers followed him home from a bank and attacked him in front of his kids.

The victim told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Chris Jose the pair got away with $25,000 cash. For safety reasons, he did not want to be identified.

“I thought when the other guy grabbed the gun, I thought he would shoot us,” he told Jose.

The robbery happened Saturday afternoon on Flemming Trail Southwest in Mableton.

Cobb County police are investigating. Detectives believe it’s part of a disturbing trend in south Cobb in which the suspects are targeting Hispanic customers at local banks.

Police have tallied a dozen similar crimes in the last 12 months.

“It looks like it is (related). There could possibly be more victims that we aren’t aware of yet,” Sgt. Wayne Delk said. “We would love to catch these guys.”

In the previous cases, Delk said, the suspects followed Hispanic customers from local banks, broke into their cars and stole cash. On Saturday, the targeted thefts escalated into an armed robbery, Delk said.

"We’d like to get the word out. They (victims who have not reported similar crimes) need to report that information to us,” Delk said. “We’re not looking at anything else other than that crime. We want to catch these suspects.”

Police believe the same crew pistol whipped and robbed the father. The man’s 17-year old daughter saw her dad on the ground and ran outside to help him.

“He pointed it (gun) at me. I just backed away. I told him, ‘Take the money and go,’” she told Jose.

The victims saw the two suspects leave in a small red SUV, possibly a Nissan Rogue or Murano. ​